LOS BAÑOS, Laguna—Toyota Motor Philippines Corp. (TMP), through its socio-economic arm Toyota Motor Philippines Foundation (TMPF), continues to fulfill its commitment to environment conservation through its Toyota Adopt-a-Forest Program in collaboration with the University of the Philippines Los Baños Foundation Inc.
As part of the program, Toyota recently inaugurated the Toyota Environment Education Theater (TEET) and the Toyota Palm Garden (TPG), as well as conducted a tree-planting activity, at the Makiling Botanic Gardens (MBG) in Los Baños, Laguna.
The TEET is a refurbished 300-square-meter orientation room inside MBG’s Nature Conservation Education and Ecotourism Center. Aside from the provision of necessary fixtures, like tables, chairs and fans, Toyota also funded for the theater’s sound system and LCD projector.
The theater will serve as a place for orientations and briefings for MBG guests. Besides local tourists, the MBG receives visitors from Asean countries, Australia, the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, among others. MBG receives 100,000 to 150,000 guests each year. The 3.5-hectare Toyota Palm Garden, on the other hand, is the first palm conservatory in the Philippines, which aims to serve as a living showcase of the country’s endemic and endangered palm species. There will be 13 palm species to be planted, which include the Manila palm, Bungang-dakigan, Mottled abiki, Bicol abiki, Yanisi, Scitula, Bunga, Mono, Palindan, Saguisi, Anahau, Takipan and Pugahan.
In the Philippines, palms are part of the country’s natural heritage and among the most common plants and trees that once dominated the archipelago but are now almost extinct due to the damage done to our natural ecosystems.
Palm forests are critical biodiversity habitats. Palms also provide useful products for human use. These are commonly used for building materials, handicrafts, commercial products, among others.
On top of the inauguration of the TEET and TPG, a tree planting was also held. Volunteers from Toyota and UPLB participated in the activities.
The volunteers were able to plant 560 dipterocarp trees at the 10-hectare Toyota Adopted Forest Block inside MBG. Among the dipterocarp species that were planted include the Lauan, Apitong, Yakal, and Tanguile, which are native to the Philippines. Likewise, 100 palm seedlings were planted at the 3.5-hectare Toyota Palm Garden.
The Toyota Adopt-a-Forest project was made possible through the collaboration of TMP and its regional affiliate Toyota Motor Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. which provided funding support to UPLB through a donation amounting to P1.3 million.